OpenStack Load Balancer Member
Deploys an Octavia pool member in OpenStack, representing a backend server that receives traffic from a load balancer pool. Each member defines an IP address, port, and optional weight for weighted load distribution, with support for cross-subnet routing when the backend resides on a different subnet than the VIP.
What Gets Created
When you deploy an OpenStackLoadBalancerMember resource, OpenMCF provisions:
- Octavia Pool Member — a
loadbalancer.Member(Pulumi) /openstack_lb_member_v2(Terraform) resource that registers a backend server in the specified pool. The member is identified by its address and port, and participates in the pool's load-balancing algorithm. Whenweightis set, the member receives a proportional share of traffic. WhensubnetIdis set, Octavia performs L3 routing to reach the backend on a different subnet.
Prerequisites
- OpenStack credentials configured via environment variables or OpenMCF provider config
- An Octavia pool to add the member to (provide the pool UUID or reference an OpenStackLoadBalancerPool resource)
- A backend server with a reachable IP address and listening port
- A subnet (optional) if the backend server is on a different subnet than the load balancer VIP
Quick Start
Create a file member.yaml:
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: web-backend-1
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: dev.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.web-backend-1
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId: 4a0e3c5b-2f1d-4e6a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
address: "10.0.0.10"
protocolPort: 8080
Deploy:
openmcf apply -f member.yaml
This registers a backend server at 10.0.0.10:8080 in the specified Octavia pool with default weight (1).
Configuration Reference
Required Fields
| Field | Type | Description | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
poolId | StringValueOrRef | The Octavia pool to add this member to. ForceNew: changing this recreates the member. Can reference OpenStackLoadBalancerPool resource via valueFrom. | Required |
address | string | IP address of the backend server that receives forwarded traffic. ForceNew: changing this recreates the member. | Required, non-empty |
protocolPort | int32 | Port on the backend server that accepts traffic. ForceNew: changing this recreates the member. | Required, 1-65535 |
Optional Fields
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
subnetId | StringValueOrRef | — | Subnet where the member resides. Used by Octavia for L3 routing when the member is on a different subnet than the VIP. ForceNew: changing this recreates the member. Can reference OpenStackSubnet resource via valueFrom. |
weight | int32 | 1 (set by Octavia) | Weight for weighted load balancing. A member with weight 0 receives no traffic (drain mode). Valid range: 0-256. When omitted, Octavia assigns a default weight of 1. |
adminStateUp | bool | true | Administrative state of the member. When false, the member is removed from the pool's rotation without deleting it. |
tags | string[] | [] | Tags applied to the member in OpenStack for filtering and organization. Must be unique within this resource. |
region | string | provider default | Overrides the region from the provider configuration for this member. |
Examples
Basic Member with Direct IP
A minimal member that registers a single backend server in an Octavia pool:
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: web-backend-1
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: dev.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.web-backend-1
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId: 4a0e3c5b-2f1d-4e6a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
address: "10.0.0.10"
protocolPort: 8080
Weighted Members with Cross-Subnet Routing
Two members with different weights on a backend subnet separate from the VIP subnet. The higher-weighted member receives proportionally more traffic:
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: app-backend-primary
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: prod.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.app-backend-primary
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId: 4a0e3c5b-2f1d-4e6a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
address: "10.1.0.10"
protocolPort: 8080
weight: 10
subnetId: b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901
tags:
- production
- primary
---
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: app-backend-secondary
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: prod.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.app-backend-secondary
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId: 4a0e3c5b-2f1d-4e6a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
address: "10.1.0.11"
protocolPort: 8080
weight: 5
subnetId: b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901
tags:
- production
- secondary
With these weights, app-backend-primary receives approximately twice the traffic of app-backend-secondary when the pool uses the ROUND_ROBIN algorithm.
Draining a Member for Maintenance
Set weight to 0 to stop sending new traffic to a member while allowing existing connections to complete. Set adminStateUp to false to fully remove the member from rotation:
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: maintenance-backend
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: prod.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.maintenance-backend
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId: 4a0e3c5b-2f1d-4e6a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
address: "10.0.0.12"
protocolPort: 8080
weight: 0
adminStateUp: false
tags:
- maintenance
Using Foreign Key References
Reference other OpenMCF-managed resources instead of hardcoding UUIDs:
apiVersion: openstack.openmcf.org/v1
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerMember
metadata:
name: ref-backend
labels:
openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
openmcf.org/stack.jobId: prod.OpenstackLoadBalancerMember.ref-backend
openmcf.org/stack.module.source: github.com/plantonhq/openmcf//apis/org/openmcf/provider/openstack/openstackloadbalancermember/v1/iac/pulumi/module
spec:
poolId:
valueFrom:
kind: OpenStackLoadBalancerPool
name: web-pool
field: status.outputs.pool_id
address: "10.0.0.10"
protocolPort: 8080
weight: 10
subnetId:
valueFrom:
kind: OpenStackSubnet
name: backend-subnet
field: status.outputs.subnet_id
Stack Outputs
After deployment, the following outputs are available in status.outputs:
| Output | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
member_id | string | UUID of the created Octavia pool member |
name | string | Name of the member, derived from metadata.name |
address | string | IP address of the backend server |
protocol_port | int32 | Port on the backend server |
weight | int32 | Weight of the member in the load-balancing algorithm |
region | string | OpenStack region where the member was created |
Related Components
- OpenStackLoadBalancerPool — the pool this member belongs to; provides the
poolIdforeign key - OpenStackSubnet — optional subnet for cross-subnet routing; provides the
subnetIdforeign key - OpenStackLoadBalancerListener — listener that routes traffic to the pool containing this member
- OpenStackLoadBalancer — top-level load balancer resource that owns the VIP
- OpenStackLoadBalancerMonitor — health monitor attached to the pool that determines member health
Next article
OpenStack Load Balancer Monitor
OpenStack Load Balancer Monitor Deploys an Octavia health monitor that periodically probes pool members to determine their health status. Unhealthy members are automatically removed from the pool's traffic rotation until they recover. Monitors support HTTP, HTTPS, PING, TCP, TLS-HELLO, and UDP-CONNECT check types. What Gets Created When you deploy an OpenStackLoadBalancerMonitor resource, OpenMCF provisions: Octavia Health Monitor — a loadbalancer.Monitor resource attached to the specified...